Press releases > South Africans give the government a failing grade on immigration, split on how to manage immigrant influx

South Africans give the government a failing grade on immigration, split on how to manage immigrant influx

5 Apr 2019

A majority of South Africans say the government is doing a poor job of managing immigration, an issue that is back in the headlines after recent xenophobic attacks in Durban.

Findings from the 2018 Afrobarometer survey show that a large majority of South Africans express tolerance toward immigrants and people from different ethnic groups.

But they are divided on three policy proposals discussed as part of the government’s 2017 White Paper on International Migration, including barring foreigners from working in South Africa, keeping refugees in camps, and maintaining an open door for foreigners facing political persecution in their own countries.